Naruto Moon: Friends of Konoha Village
by The Zelda Big Macintosh
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki returns to Konoha Village after 12 years to find his old friend dead, a girl he met transformed into a beautiful woman, and a whole new life of opportunities. With a severely untended farm, minimal funds with which to restore it, and a lovely lady to woo while doing so, he certainly has his work cut out for him.


**9000ish: I am adding a fifth story to my current itinerary. This time, it's a parody of Harvest Moon…Naruto style! NaruSaku, ShikaIno, KibaHina, NejiTen, and minor KonoMoe warnings. If you don't' like these pairings, then don't read the story! I won't stand for pointless flames! Ahh…now that that's over, I believe it's time for this story's first disclaimer.**

**Itachi: ITSOVER9000ish owns nothing, except the idea for the story and the story itself. Harvest Moon and all things related to it belong to Natsume Inc. and Naruto and all its related things belong to their respective owners.**

**9000ish: Thanks, Itachi. Story time!**

Naruto Moon: Friends of Konoha Village

Chapter 1: Return Story

A boy of about 18, with tanned skin and spiked up yellow-blond hair, wearing a citrus orange T-shirt, black denim jeans, plain brown work shoes, a charcoal kerchief around his neck, and a large, light brown rucksack on his broad shoulders, flicked his cerulean eyes about, surveying his current surroundings.

` He was standing in the middle of a field, strewn with weeds, branches, and rocks of every kind, his small, light brown puppy frolicking in the grass nearby. It was clear that the farm at which the field was located had been abandoned for quite some time. The boy was starting towards the farmhouse when a voice sounded behind him, clearly angry and distraught.

"What are you doing here? The owner of this place died awhile back! You can't just come waltzing in here! This is private property!" yelled the voice.

The boy, startled by the voice, and saddened by the news of a death, turned around slowly. What he found behind him was a tall woman with lengthy blond hair and a blue violet dot on her forehead, wearing a green cloak over a light gray over shirt and smoky leggings, with black shoes, staring at him with a most unpleasant expression.

"I'm sorry, m'am." said the boy. "I didn't know he was dead. I just got off the boat at the beach, and I didn't see anyone during my walk over here. The owner was an old friend of mine, and I wanted to see how he was doing."

"So you knew him? And you didn't know he died?" asked the woman, her features softening.

The boy nodded his head solemnly.

"I reckon he died about, oh, six months ago. He wrote in his will that he would leave the farm and everything on it to someone named Naruto Uzumaki. So until whoever that is shows up, I have to make sure no one does anything to mess this place up." The woman continued.

The boy's eyes went wide.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"You are? Well, it's his will. Well then, Naruto, are you up for the task? If not, this place will probably be bulldozed and the land for sale." The woman told Naruto.

"Of course I'm up for it! I'm not about to let down the old man!" Naruto forcefully declared.

"That's what I like to hear! All right, then. The farm is yours. But if you don't mind, could I ask how you met the old man?" The woman inquired.

"I guess so." Naruto replied, taking a deep breath.

_(We flashback to twelve years ago. Naruto's family has just arrived for a vacation in Konoha Village. His mother, Kushina, with long, dark pink hair wearing a crimson sundress and leather sandals, and his father, Minato, with spiked up blond hair wearing a white T-shirt with a red zigzag marking across the front of it and blue work pants with grey sneakers, are walking through the town.)_

_ "Isn't this place wonderful, darling?' Minato asked his wife._

_ "It's absolutely amazing, honey," Kushina answered, "Don't you think so, Naruto?"_

_ There was no response._

_ "Naruto? Oh no!" Kushina screamed._

_ "What's wrong?" asked Minato, concern clear in his tone._

_ "I can't find Naruto!" Kushina exclaimed, becoming increasingly worried about her son._

_ After a change of scene, we see a six year old Naruto sitting near the entrance of the farm. He had gotten lost and started to cry._

_ An old man named Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had graying hair and wore a red and white cloak over a silver t-shirt and slightly tattered jeans, came out of the farm house once the sound of someone crying reached his ears. He looked around and saw Naruto, sitting on the ground in front of the entrance to the farm, crying his eyes dry. Hiruzen smiled warmly as he walked slowly towards the child._

_ "What's wrong, little one? Are you lost?" asked Hiruzen as he knelt down to bring himself closer to eye level with Naruto._

_ Naruto stopped crying enough to see the kind old man, and managed to utter a simple "Uh-huh," through his current state. Hiruzen noticed something on the small bag the boy had been carrying. There was a seven-digit number, with the first three numbers separated from the other four by a hyphen._

_ "What's this? Is this your phone number?" asked Hiruzen again._

_ Naruto had calmed down a bit more, and was able to mumble "Yeah, I guess so."_

_ His smile ever present, Hiruzen led Naruto into the house, sat him down, cleaned his face with a damp rag, and gave him a glass of cold water. He then told Naruto to stay inside and that he would be back as soon as possible. He raced off to the inn, and used the phone on the counter to call Kushina and Minato._

_ "Hello?" he spoke clearly._

_ "Excuse me, but who is this? And how did you get my number?" was Kushina's voice._

_ "My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, and I run the farm in the southern part of Konoha Village. I have your number because I found it on your son's bag." Hiruzen responded._

_ "Our son! You mean you know where Naruto is?" was the suddenly excited voice of Kushina._

_ "Indeed. He's over at my farm." Hiruzen replied._

_ "Where is your farm?" asked Kushina in an almost demanding voice._

_ Hiruzen gave her instructions as to how to get to his farm. Kushina thanked him and hung up. Hiruzen put the phone back and left the inn, walking back leisurely towards his farm._

_ When he arrived, he entered his house, and called for Naruto._

_ "Naruto, come on outside with me. There's a surprise for you." Hiruzen told the young boy._

_ Naruto followed Hiruzen outside, and saw his parents just arriving. They saw him, and began running towards him, arms outstretched, Naruto doing the same. They caught each other in a group hug, tears of joy streaking their faces._

_ "Oh, Naruto! I was so worried!" Kushina exclaimed._

_ "Don't you ever wander off again, young man!" Minato tried to have a strict tone, but his relief and joy of finding his lost son overtook it._

_ "I'm sorry, daddy." Naruto said._

_ After their hug ended, they turned to Hiruzen._

_ "How can we ever repay you?" Kushina asked._

_ "No need. Just seeing how much joy I brought to the three of you is reward enough." Hiruzen replied._

_ "Which way is it to the Inn?" Minato asked Hiruzen._

"_The Inn? Go straight north from here and turn right at the second intersection. But I'm afraid the Inn is full." Hiruzen explained._

_ "Full?" Minato asked?_

_ "Perfect. Where will we stay, now?" Kushina nearly yelled from stress._

_ "Don't worry, honey. We'll find someplace." Minato assured her._

_ "You could stay here on the farm." Hiruzen told them._

_ "Thanks for the offer, but we don't want to trouble you." Kushina said._

_ "It's no trouble. I live alone, so you wouldn't be bothering anyone else, I have an extra room just in case unexpected company arrives, and I'm sure it would be a good experience for the lad." Hiruzen said, indicating Naruto with his right index finger._

_ Minato knelt down in front of Naruto._

_ "Naruto? Do you want to stay here on the farm?" Minato asked his son._

_ "Yeah! This place is really cool, and Mr. Hiruzen is really nice!" Naruto exclaimed._

_ Minato stood up again, and faced Hiruzen._

_ "I guess that settles it. Kushina and I will take our bags to the extra room." Minato said._

_ "Alright. I'll show Naruto around the farm." Hiruzen told Minato._

_ For the rest of the weeklong stay in Konoha, Naruto did all sorts of fun things. He rode a horse and a cow, chased the chickens all around their pen, caught his first fish, and was even given a puppy from one of Hiruzen's neighbors. He named the puppy Kyubi._

_ It is the day before Naruto goes back home. He is laying in a meadow up on the mountain near Hiruzen's house. His eyes are closed, and he is simply relaxing, listening to the birds chirping and the waterfall running. He doesn't notice a girl his age with bright pink hair wearing a little red and white dress walking up to him._

_ "Hey." She said._

_ No reaction. She tried again._

_ "Hey!" she said a bit louder._

_ Still nothing._

_ "HEY!" she nearly screamed._

_ That seemed to work. Naruto sat up with a jolt._

_ "Huh? What? Who? Where? When? Why? How?" he said._

_ He turned to the girl._

_ "Who are you?" he asked her._

_ "My name is Sakura. I live at the inn. Who are you?  
she told him._

_ "I'm Naruto. I'm living with Mr. Hiruzen at his farm. But I'm going home tomorrow." Naruto said, his face falling as he spoke the last sentence._

_ "Aw, that's no fun. Hey, wanna play with me?" Sakura asked._

_ "Sure!" Naruto replied. Sakura patted his shoulder._

_ "Tag! You're 'it'!" she said before running off giggling. Naruto smirked and raced after her._

_ It is the day Naruto and his family leave Konoha. He is saying goodbye to Hiruzen._

_ "It was fun staying here, Mr. Hiruzen! Bye!" Naruto exclaimed to the kind old man._

_ "Goodbye, Naruto. Write me a letter sometime to keep in touch." Hiruzen called back._

_ "I will! Thank you!" Naruto yelled again, before turning around and almost bumping into Sakura._

_ "You're leaving? You have to come back someday, ok?" Sakura pleaded._

"_I will." Naruto told the pinkette._

_ "You promise?" Sakura asked._

_ "I promise!" Naruto proclaimed, and turned to leave._

"_Bye." Sakura said._

_ "Bye." Naruto replied before setting off to join his parents._

"That's about it." Naruto told the woman.

"That's quite a story. So, you were writing letters to each other, and when he didn't write back after a while, you came to check up on him?" the woman asked.

"That's right. A part of me knew something bad had probably happened, but I never knew he had died. But I'll make him proud!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That's the spirit. Now, about the town. It has two other farms: Ebisu's Farm, and the Poultry Farm. Ebisu sells livestock, such as cows, sheep, and, whenever he gets one, a colt, as well as fodder for them to eat. Poultry Farm, as you can imagine, sells chickens, as well as chicken feed. Then there's the Blacksmith & Tool Shop where Kiba works with his grandfather Jiraiya, which sells and upgrades tools. There is also the Konoha Inn, which is the only place in the village where there is a phone. They also sell food, and it's a popular hangout at night." The woman explained.

"The Inn, huh? That's where Sakura told me she lived. Guess I should pay a visit to the Inn later today. Anything else?" Naruto asked.

"The store is on the north end of town. It sells what any store sells: fruits, vegetables, breads, meats and cheeses. Pretty much everything you'll need. They also sell special goods, such as rucksacks similar to your own and baskets for carrying things. Occasionally, they'll get a blue feather in stock." The woman explained.

"What's a blue feather?" asked Naruto.

"It's what we here in Konoha use to propose marriage." The woman explained again.

"Ah." Naruto nodded. The subject if marriage was making him a little uncomfortable.

"There's the doctor's office where Nurse Tenten and Doctor Neji work. Tenten sells medicine and Neji provides checkups. There's Asuma and Kurenai's vineyard, the Library where Hinata works, the local church where Pastor Kakashi preaches on Sundays and teaches the two young kids of the village, Konohamaru and Moegi, Monday through Friday. That's about it. Oh, I'm the Hokage, Tsunade, by the way." Tsunade finished explaining.

"Thanks for all the info. I'm gonna go surprise Sakura at the Inn." Naruto told Tsunade.

"Well, good luck with that. I have to get the news out to the village of your taking over this farm. My house is next to the library. Drop by if you need anything." Tsunade said as she turned to leave.

"Will do. Bye." Naruto said.

The blond looked at his watch, which said it was five o'clock pm.

"Time to feed Kyubi." Naruto whistled for his puppy.

"Kyubi! C'mere, boy! It's food time!" he yelled.

Kyubi bounded over to Naruto, and followed his master inside.

Once Naruto had set down Kyubi's bowl and poured in some food, he made sure he looked decent and walked outside and to the Inn.

Once inside, he walked towards the counter. The man behind it addressed him.

"Hello, young man. I haven't seen you here before. You must be the new resident that Lady Tsunade was talking about." The man smiled.

"That's me. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto grinned back, extending his hand.

The man shook Naruto's hand and replied, "Call me Iruka."

"It's nice to meet you, Iruka." Naruto retracted his hand.

"Likewise." Iruka replied, "Now, is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, there is. When I first came here about 12 years ago, I met a girl named Sakura who said she lived at the Inn. Is, um…is she still living here?" Naruto explained and asked.

"Oh! So you're the boy who she is always talking about who 'made a promise to come back to Konoha one day'?" Iruka asked, surprised.

"Sure am! Is Sakura here, by any chance?" Naruto asked again.

"Indeed," Iruka said, and then turned his head towards the ceiling.

"Sakura!" he yelled.

"Yeah, dad?" was a girl's voice.

"Someone is here to see you!" Iruka replied loudly.

There was the sound of someone coming down the stairs, and then Naruto was greeted with the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

Sakura looked absolutely stunning. She wore a red sundress and had bare feet, for she had nothing planned for the day. Her pink hair had darkened slightly, and she had it tied up in a red ribbon.

"I hope it's not Lee again. He needs to give up." Sakura said, before she set her eyes on the boy standing in front of her.

"Who's this?" She asked.

"You mean you don't recognize me?" Naruto asked in return.

"How can I recognize someone I've never met?" Sakura asked again.

"You mean you don't even remember meeting me?" Naruto kept the questions flying.

"ARRRRRRRGH! Will you just tell me who you are?" Sakura asked, obviously annoyed by this idiot's antics.

"I'll give you a hint," Naruto said, before walking over to Sakura, patting her shoulder lightly with his hand, and saying, "Tag. You're 'it'."

Sakura's eyes widened at least three sizes, and her jaw fell down almost to the floor.

"NARUTO!" she squealed, crushing the air out of said teen in a squeezing hug.

"Whew. I was afraid I was going to have to spell it out to you." Naruto grinned cheekily.

"How…why…when…," Sakura was struggling to find the words she wanted.

"I just got here a few hours ago, actually." Naruto explained. After listening to the rest of his story, Sakura understood.

"So you're taking over the farm? That's gonna be a lot of work." Sakura said, stunned, yet still overjoyed that Naruto kept his promise.

"I know. But I'm not about to let Hiruzen down! I promise that ranch will be restored to its former beauty!" Naruto exclaimed, and checked his watch.

"It's getting late. I need some dinner, but I have no food or money." Naruto groaned in dismay.

"Hey, dad. What do you think about making Naruto dinner for free as a welcome gift?" Sakura asked Iruka.

"I don't see a problem. Just don't expect free food every time you come here." Iruka nodded in agreement.

"You'd do that for me? Thank you so much!" Naruto said.

"Make him your special ramen, dad!" Sakura yelled as Iruka was almost through the door to the kitchen.

"Coming right up!" Iruka yelled as he disappeared behind the door.

"Did you say ramen?" Naruto asked.

"You like ramen?" Sakura asked back.

"It's only my most favorite food in the world!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura smiled at that comment, making Naruto go weak in the knees.

_'She's so cute when she smiles.'_ Naruto thought.

"So, who's Lee?" Naruto asked.

"Rock Lee. Ugh, don't even get me started on him. He arrived in town shortly before you did. He is poor, almost out of money. He's actually staying in a room here at the Inn. But if he can't make money, he'll stop being able to pay his rent, and he'll have to leave the village." Sakura started.

"Doesn't sound that bad to me." Naruto said.

"It's not all a sob story. When he first got his room here last week, I knew he had fallen for me. But no matter what hints I drop, he doesn't seem to realize that I'm not interested in him. He used to show up now and then with something he bought at the store to give to me, but that stopped when I told him that he really should save his already dwindling funds." Sakura continued.

Naruto just nodded. He got the sense that Sakura was not someone to mess with when she got like this.

"Even now, he'll show up and ask me out, and because I don't know how to break it to him that I don't feel for him that way without really hurting him, all I can do is politely decline. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place." Sakura ended.

"I'm sure you'll get unstuck somehow." Naruto told her.

"Well, thanks for listening to me drone on and on about him. Oh, here's the food." Sakura replied.

Indeed, Iruka was walking over to the table Naruto and Sakura had sat down at during their conversation, holding a steaming bowl of ramen with an oven mitt in each hand, setting one in front of Naruto and one in front of Sakura. He quickly walked back into the kitchen, bringing back with him two cold bottles of non-alcoholic sake.

"Thanks, Iruka!" Naruto said.

"Thanks, Dad." Sakura told her father.

"No problem! Now eat up before it gets cold." Iruka said, smiling.

And that they did, both politely asking for seconds after finishing their first bowls. Iruka complied, and each devoured another bowl of the delicious ramen.

"URP! Oh, excuse me!" Sakura blushed at her having belched loudly.

"Mmm! Best ramen I've ever eaten!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I must say, I'm impressed, Naruto! I've never seen anyone eat as much as Sakura before!" Iruka said.

"Daa-aad! Why do you have to embarrass me like that?" Sakura whined, half mockingly.

"Because it's my job as your father!" Iruka proudly exclaimed.

That sent all three of them into fits of laughter. After helping clean up, Naruto looked at his watch again.

"Seven thirty pm. Guess I better get going. Thanks for the food. Goodbye." Naruto said as he left.

"Come back sometime! I'm sure Sakura would love that!" Iruka replied.

The last thing Naruto heard before the door closed was Sakura screaming at her father.

"DAD!" was the distraught girl's shrieking voice. Naruto chuckled to himself before walking to his new home.

As he walked to the front door, he turned and looked at the field, still in its state of disarray.

"Tomorrow, I start my new life." He said to himself.

He walked inside, changed into some more comfortable clothes, and, after making sure that Kyubi had water for the night, flicked off the lights, and climbed into bed, falling into a deep sleep, dreaming of something, or rather, someone who had been on his mind ever since he had first glimpsed her earlier that afternoon.

**9000ish: Ah, Spring 2nd. When a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. NaruSaku FTW! Hasta la vista!**


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